![]() ![]() Western diplomats doubt US-allied Gulf states would buy sophisticated equipment like the Checkmate, though sales of Russian hardware to the Gulf have increased in recent years. Yury Slusar, head of United Aircraft Corp, part of Russia's state aerospace and defence conglomerate, Rostec, said there had been "intensive contacts" with the Russian air force. The Lockheed Martin F-35 entered into service in 2015 with the US Marine Corps. The Checkmate, due to take its maiden test flight in 2023 and to start production by 2026, has yet seal an order. Though the AGSIW report didn’t address the fact, given those close ties between Moscow and Tehran – and the burgeoning aerospace efforts underway in the Islamic Republic – it shouldn’t be ruled out that Iran could be an interested party for the Checkmate, especially as Israel, its arch-nemesis in the region, operates the F-35I “Adir.The Russian presentation pitched the Checkmate, which was inspected by Vladimir Putin during its July unveiling, as a cost-efficient fighter jet that can fly at speeds of Mach 1.8 and a range of 2,800-2,900 kilometres. As the UAE was unable to purchase the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, despite essentially “closing the deal” with the Trump Administration, the Emirates could appear to be willing to invest in the Su-75 instead. And there is still very much a chance.Īs the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) noted in a report earlier in the year on the increasing ties between Russia and Iran, some of the Gulf States – notably Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – have invested heavily to upgrade their respective militaries over recent years, often using a diversified arms purchasing strategy that includes Russia. Interest from foreign customers does appear to be the only chance the Su-75 has at this point – it is to find a buyer or else its “checkmate” for the Checkmate. In reality, if producing one advanced aircraft was proving difficult enough, trying to produce two was never going to make the process easier. ![]() It was actually the second fifth-generation fighter aircraft to be developed by Russia, following the Sukhoi Su-57.Įven as the Kremlin has struggled to reach serial production of its Su-57 (NATO reporting name “Felon”), the Su-75 was seen to have some advantages – namely that it could build on what Russia had already accomplished. The Su-75 was first announced by the Russian state-owned conglomerate Rostec at the MAKS 2021 Airshow in Moscow. But at the same time, the principle of modularity and modern digital technologies made it possible to make these changes in the shortest possible time, and as early as 2024 we plan to start flight tests,” said Manturov.įast forward and today the Su-75 remains little more than vaporware and like some now infamous consumer offerings – from the Segway Centaur to the Apple iTV – it looks increasingly like the vapor will disperse, never to be seen again. “Changes were made to the design, which corrected the time of the first flight. The updated timeline was confirmed by Russia’s Minister of Industry and Commerce. Last summer, Russia announced that its highly-touted fifth-generation fighter, the Sukhoi Su-75 “ Checkmate,” wouldn’t have its inaugural flight until at least some time in 2024 – a delay of more than a year.
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